Life's Next Chapter

by Sarah Goodman

  Putting on the sexiest panties and bra I can find, I realize I seriously need to hit up Victoria’s Secret. Slipping on the blue dress makes me feel beautiful. The dress is actually somewhat loose on me, but looks impeccable. It has spaghetti straps, comes high on the chest, yet extremely low on the back. Last thing on are my silver strappy shoes and some earrings.

  I hear him pull up as I start down the stairs. My nerves are bursting and I’m starting to sweat. This is so new to me. I can’t tell you the last time I went on a date. I don’t think Keith and I ever dated. Don’t even know what we did. I met Keith at a bar; so cliché, I know. We danced the night away, went home super drunk with Beth and Grant. Three days later he called me, saying he would be at another bar on Friday and would love to see me, so we met up. Looking back, I think all we did was meet up, until the one night he took me to his apartment where we had sex all night. Our routine continued for several weeks until what I thought was a horrible hangover turned into morning sickness. Keith stepped up to the plate, determined to be a good father.

  I know he cheated long before he told me. He says it was the summer the girls turned two. I know that was the summer he got caught, but I’m sure he started long before. It makes me sick, knowing I fell for his shit. Breaks my heart knowing my girls are influenced with that piece of shit as a father. I feel blessed for never knowing my father. He was a bastard to me the moment I learned he knew he knocked my mother up. He just never wanted the responsibility. If Keith ever gave something good to our relationship, it’s our daughters. The girls are my world and they are the only blessing he ever gave me; as much as I want to hate him, I can’t thank him enough.

  I grab my clutch and walk towards the door just as the bell rings. Opening the door to Luke sends shock waves through my system. He stands there, in faded jeans and a black button down shirt with black boots. I think I might hyperventilate. “Wow…sunshine, you look stunning.” He sputters out his sentence. I can see he’s tongue tied, and he can’t stop staring, which I am getting a kick out of. “These are for you.” Handing me a dozen red roses.

  Stepping towards him, I lean in and give him a kiss. He pulls me closer, wrapping his arms around my waist. Our kiss is slow, soft, and gentle. A preview of what might be in store tonight. “Luke, these are beautiful. Thank you. Come in, let me put these in water.” Following me into the house, he can’t stop staring at me. “Like what you see?” He’s smiling and then laughs. Damn, that man has the best laugh ever.

  “Baby, you have no idea how much I love what I see. You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met. That dress does amazing things to not only your body, but your eyes as well.” He strides over to me as I’m placing the flowers in a vase. Wrapping those strong arms around my waist, he kisses the spot on my neck that sends chills down my body and pulsates in my womb. “As much as I love this dress on you, the one thing I’m looking forward to the most is taking you out of it at the end of our date,” he mumbles into my neck. Oh Hell!

  “You can take it off now, we don’t need to eat.” I suggest, angling my neck and smiling up at him.

  With another laugh and an adjustment to his pants, he grabs my wrist and pulls me to the front door. “Let’s go, before I lose my control, which I don’t want to do because you deserve a night out with a charming, handsome, suave, funny–”

  Swatting his shoulder, “OKAY, I get it. Let me get my clutch and keys.”

  Luke helps me into his big truck and we head out for downtown. He pulls into the valet and escorts me to a well-known steakhouse. The hostess leads us to a quiet table in the back of the restaurant. The waiter strides to our table, introduces himself and hands us our menus. Luke orders a bottle of wine. We place our orders. He gets the filet mignon and I get the sea bass.

  We talk, our conversation flowing smoothly, no awkwardness or weird silence. We laugh, listening to each other’s stories. He tells me more about his family. His twin sister, Lilly, lives in Virginia with her husband, Tyler. They both work at the Pentagon. Workaholics that travel in their spare time. He mentions Lilly has no desire to be a mom; she loves her work and freedom too much. Luke thinks by having Danika around the house and helping his parents raise her, she was dissuaded from having children. His younger sister, who is around my age, is Leah and she lives in Miami with her husband, Charles, who is an uptight, high rolling, plastic surgeon. Leah was a dancer, but these days she is more of a trophy wife for Charles. Charles doesn’t let her visit without him. I get the feeling Luke doesn’t like his brother-in-law. He talks about how he controls Leah too much. “The girl is thirty-one, she should be able to visit her family when she wants. It’s not like she has a job or anything to tie her down. She didn’t come to Danika’s high school graduation because he couldn’t get off to come with her.” Leah and Charles have no children, as well. His parents are retired and live close by. William and Marcy spend their time golfing or antique shopping. “Mom and Dad keep each other entertained, but I think they regret retiring so early. Mom wants grandbabies and none of her three children have given her anymore.” Now, where is this conversation going? “Kate, do you want more children…I mean, if you ever find the right guy…I mean, when you’re ready…”

  Placing my hand on his clenched fist. “I don’t think I want anymore. I’m not completely against it, but as of now, I don’t want anymore. I had a rough pregnancy with the girls. Plus, kids are a huge responsibility, and I’m terrified I’ll be stuck with another child and still doing it by myself.” The smile he’s worn all night has faded and the twinkle in his eyes has glassed over. Shit, there goes Kate sticking her flipping foot in her mouth, yet again. I swear I have no filter on my mouth, and I desperately need one.

  “Do you want more, even knowing you have a teenage daughter?” I curiously ask.

  “Of course, I want more. I missed the best years with Danika. I’m older, mature, stable, and there’s nothing I want more than a family.” Wow, that was quick and to the point. Saved by the waiter, who asks if we want dessert? We both decline.

  Once Luke settles the bill, we walk out of the restaurant with me leading the way, his hand resting on the small of my back. As we walk I can feel the warmth of his big, calloused hand on my bare back. His thumb is rubbing my skin in gentle strokes back and forth. He leads me to the bar across the street.

  The bar is known for special and unique Martini’s. We grab a small cocktail table, order our Martini’s, and continue our conversation. I tell him about my non-existent relationship with Keith. I let it slip he took money from me and gambled it away; at least I think he gambled it away. Otherwise I have no clue where it all went. No one knows about that, except Beth, Ella, and Brody. Brody was witness to the cluster-fuck when his bank called him and rejected my check. I later talked to Brody, and explained that Keith had withdrawn most of my remodeling account, and I would have to postpone remodeling until I had saved more money. I could only assume Keith was gambling because again, so much money had disappeared. Luke asked why I didn’t press charges. “He’s a cop, cops have such a brotherhood. It was more of a hassle to jump through the hoops to report him. It was easier to close the account and move my funds to a new account.” A lesson learned on my part.

  “Want to dance?” Luke asks, rising from the bar stool, and taking my hand in his hand.

  “Would love to!” Luke pulls me to his chest. I align my body to have his large muscled thigh between my legs. His arms are wrapped around me and we move to the techno beat of Pitbull and Christina Aguilera.

  Leaning his mouth to my ear, he whispers, “For being such a country girl, you sure do know how to move.”

  I throw my head back and laugh. “I have plenty of moves. Just because I love country music doesn’t mean I only know how to line dance,” I say into his ear. I bite his ear lobe then continue to lick down his neck. He tastes salty and all I want to do is continue down his body. We continue to dance through a couple more songs. Luke holds me with such possession and need. All I want to do is get ho
me and be underneath him.

  Luke leans back down to my ear, and sucks on my ear lobe before confessing. “I’m ready to take you home and see your other moves…and I’m not talking about your line dancing.” With that I grab his hand and walk to the door of the bar. If my feet were walking any faster, I would be sprinting. We’re outside, waiting by the valet for the truck, when I hear the voice that sends the wrong kind of chills up my neck. I turn around to see where it is coming from. Once I lock on his deep brown eyes, I gasp. He hears the gasp, and so does Luke.

  “Well, look at you all dolled up, back to your old ways, princess?” I take in his ugly words and want to vomit.

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” Luke demands, immediately pulling me behind him.

  “I guess she never brought up her ex-husband. You know, this is how she got me under her claws. Prancing around in clubs, looking hot as hell, then stupid here goes and gets herself knocked up. Not only does she get knocked up with one, but with two. The bitch breeds two for me to fucking take care of.”

  “You bastard! I take care of our daughters; you don’t give me one cent. Fuck you! I didn’t breed dogs, asshole. I gave birth to your daughters!” I jumped around from behind Luke, and if he wasn’t so damn fast or strong I would have knocked the shit out of Keith. I wanted to take my shoe and jab the damn heel into his eye.

  “If you weren’t such a damn weasel, and wouldn’t use your piece of shit badge to throw in my face, I would beat the shit out of you,” Luke warns ominously. He is taller than Keith by several inches, and bigger in the muscle department. I’m surprised Keith isn’t running. Nope. Here he is running his trashy mouth in front of three women and another guy. Those assholes just sit back and watch. I wonder if they would even have his back if Luke went bat shit crazy on him. “Seriously, man. You might not like Kate for the woman she is, but don’t you dare disrespect her for being the mother of your daughters. That’s wrong, and you fucking know it.” Luke growls to Keith, his voice low enough so the others can’t hear him. He’s inches away from his face, and I’m trying to hold him back, wrapping my arms around his left bicep. I just don’t want Luke to get into trouble, and knowing Keith, he would pull out all the stops just because he’s a cop.

  “Baby, he’s not worth it. Come on let’s go.” I tell Luke.

  “You’re right, dickhead, I don’t like her. She was a lousy lay. She fucking trapped me for three years. Three years of terrible fucking. I’m assuming you don’t know how horrible she is in bed because if you did, bro, you wouldn’t be standing next to her. My suggestion, runaway as fast as you—”

  Nothing else came out of his mouth because despite how hard I try to pull Luke away, he grabs Keith by the shoulders and shoves him so hard Keith stumbles, barely staying on his feet.

  I swing around and jump in Luke’s face. “LUKE! PLEASE WALK AWAY!” I shout to him. He looks at me, nostrils flaring. His jaw is tight and his eyes are raging black. He steps back a few feet. Just when I think we are going to walk away. Luke whirls around me, stopping with his face inches away from Keith’s.

  “Here’s a fucking suggestion for you. Stay the fuck away from Kate. Or, so help me God, I will make damn sure you never get a piece of ass again. I will fuck up your face so bad not even your own mother could stand the sight of you! Fuck off, Keith!” Luke growls again at Keith. Finally, one of the other guys pulls Keith away, as I pull Luke in the opposite direction. Luke grabs me by the waist and we walk to his truck, waiting for us at the curb.

  I HOLD ONTO Kate as we walk to my truck and she’s shaking like a leaf. Stupid Motherfucker, so help me, if he weren’t a cop I would have beaten the tar out of him. I help my beautiful girl into the truck, reaching over to buckle her in. I gently grasp her chin and make her look up at me. Tears are pooling in her eyes. “Nothing that asshole can say will make me ever change my mind about you,” I softly say. I shut the door and jog around the truck, looking around to see if dipshit is still around.

  I peel out of the parking lot and drive as fast as I can back to Kate’s. I grab her hand and entwine our fingers together. “Baby, please don’t let him ruin our night. I had a great time with you, and I refuse to let that asshole ruin it.” Looking at her, she has her head leaning against the window and I see the tears fall down her face. Taking my thumb I wipe away the tears. “Talk to me sunshine. Help me fix this,” I plead.

  “I…I just don’t know who that man is. He has never said anything that vulgar or hateful to me, or about our girls. It’s like he was possessed, or on something. It just hurts he thought those things about me and could say all of it in public. Oh…God…Luke I am so sorry for bringing you into this.” She cries into her hands.

  I swear if that stupid fuck wasn’t a cop I would have snapped his arm off and beaten him senseless with it. Who the hell does he think he is? I can’t believe any man would stoop that low and speak such hateful things about the mother of his children. I mean, I can’t stand Danielle for what she did to Danika, but the woman brought my daughter into the world. If it weren’t for Danielle I would never have had my beautiful girl. I just pray Julia and Nicole never find out about the shit their father spewed to the public about their mother.

  Looking at Kate is tearing me apart. This is not how I planned this evening. I was having such a great time with her. Then Keith comes out of nowhere, just rambling crap. Why couldn’t he just be man enough to walk away? I get a vibe with pricks like him, and I know this is just the start of the shit he is going to bring to Kate and the girls. Tonight was really special, I haven’t had a date like this in years…hell maybe a decade. I can’t remember having such a great time with a woman I am seriously attracted to. Seeing her in this blue dress that accentuates her bright blue eyes, and every curve of that tight body of hers. I can only hope the little escapade with Keith will blow over by the time we get to her house and we can continue with our evening. Nothing I want more than to feel her sweet body under mine.

  “Baby, do me a favor and forget the shit Keith pulled tonight. I’m still here and not going anywhere,” I say as we are approaching her house. She’s still quiet and gives me a forced half smile. Driving up her driveway and pulling close to her house, I notice she has already unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed her purse. She’s going to blow me off. I can feel it. Since day one, I could tell how she was feeling without even asking. I put the car in park and she is out of there. FUCK!

  I watch her run into the house while I sit in the car for a few minutes, thinking of what I should do. I know what she wants; she wants me to leave. I’m not about to do that to her. I won’t give up on her. Seeing the kitchen light still on, I walk to the back door and knock. I can see through the sheer curtains on the French door that she is slumping against the counter. I twist the knob—it’s unlocked—I push the door open, and with a sigh of relief, I step inside, shutting the door and locking it. I’ll be damned if she makes me leave tonight. Right now, I just want to hold her all night.

  Sniffling and with a hoarse voice she says, “Luke, please just go home. I’m sorry for tonight.” Three easy strides and I’m to her. I pick her up and gently set her on the counter. Putting my fingers under her chin, I tilt her face up so we are looking into each other’s eyes. I bring my other thumb to her eyes and wipe the smudge of black mascara running down her face. “Sunshine, please don’t let him win. You know everything he said was wrong. Don’t cry over unnecessary shit.”

  “Please. Luke. I need you to leave…now.” She says with a little more assertion and force. Placing both of my hands on her jaw, I bring her lips to mine and kiss her. Her lips are warm, sweet, and taste so damn good. I pull her bottom lip and nibble on it. I want to taste so much more of her body. She places her palms on my chest and tries to push me away. “GO…Now!” She’s doing her damnedest to fight with me. It’s kind of sexy; I like this spunk in her.

  “Baby, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll sleep on the couch if I have to, but I am not leaving you alone tonight. What I
’d really like to do is to hold you in my arms while we sleep.”

  “No, everything needs to stop, right now. No more dating. After tonight, we will go back to contractor and client. I will NOT drag you down into my shit.” She tries pushing me harder and jumps off the counter. She walks to the back door, unlocks it and opens the door for me. I give her a smile and a small chuckle. I can be just as stubborn as she is being. I won’t let her to bring Keith into this relationship.

  Walking to the door, I nudge it closed with my foot, and lean over and lock it. “If you think I’m going to let you push me away over what your ex-husband said, you are sorely mistaken. Whatever is floating in that head of yours, where you believe Keith’s shit, needs to vanish in ten seconds?”

  Looking up to me with such confusion Kate asks, “Why ten seconds?” Before she can even finish those three words, I scoop her up in my arms and carry her through her house and upstairs. With her head pressed to my neck she quietly tells me, “Luke, please I’m begging now. Put me down and runaway as fast as you can. You don’t want to deal with my crazy life.”

  Once we reach the top of the stairs I ask, “Where’s yours?” She doesn’t say anything. “Fine, I will open every door.” Granted there are only four doors up here, but still. Luckily hers is the first door next to the stairs. I push it open with my foot and set her on the edge of the bed. I kneel down in front of her and we are almost at eye level. “Kate, trust me when I say I want this…I want your crazy life. I refuse to listen to a single word Keith spewed.”

  She wipes away the tears away with her fingers and places her hand on my cheek. “I don’t want you to deal with my crazy, lousy life. You can find better than me.” I’m mad now. Once she said lousy I knew exactly what she was thinking. Keith spouted off to the many strangers around us that Kate was lousy in bed and for the sake of her pregnancy and the girls he put up with her bedroom behavior. All I can imagine is that fucker has lousy moves because Kate was pure bliss in my eyes. It might have only been a few minutes, and not the ideal way to be with her for the first time, but once she snaked her hot body on my dick, I was a goner. She brought me out of my darkest moment and gave me light. Just looking into her sapphire eyes, she sparkles with light. This girl could bring me back from darkest hell with just her smile and those eyes.